Broadway Across Canada’s Come From Away has landed in Vancouver, and on opening night this Tony Award-winning musical brought its audience to its feet with its authentically bold and emotional testimony of humanity through the most trying of times. Base on real-life experiences, the show recounts the moments and days following the 9/11 attacks, when 38 planes unexpectedly landed in the small town of Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador.

La Bohème is the one of the world’s most enduring love stories and operas of all time. And love is definitely in the air in Vancouver Opera’s (VO) beautiful staging. This production is a larger-than-life vintage postcard of Paris, set for the most part in the 1920’s. André Barbe’s Parisian set of cafes and shops lining a bustling city street, is complemented by his period costumes and Guy Simard’s luminous lighting, altogether painting a superb vision. And the first-rate cast performances, accompanied by VO’s exquisite orchestra under the direction of conductor Judith Yan, make this telling of La Bohème an excellent artistic work.

Camryn Macdonald (centre) with the company of Annie. Photo credit: Emily Cooper

As the snow continues to fall in Vancouver, it seems fitting that Align Entertainment’s current offering is the Tony Award-winning musical, Annie, which not only beckons the sun to come out tomorrow, but also takes place at Christmas. And while a lot of effort has gone into putting on this ambitious musical, which involves a sizeable cast, gorgeous sets and costumes, a full orchestra, and two dogs (who alternate in the role of Sandy), this production doesn’t quite hit the mark. The issues lie mainly with comic timing and dialogue delivery, and a lack of vibrancy from some of the leads.

Gateway Theatre’s Canadian premiere of the comedy, Yoga Play, is a fun, satirical look at the yoga apparel industry. While the play has a clever main concept – exploring the disconnect between the spirit of yoga and the competitive retail world – the show takes on a few too many plotlines for it to handle and isn’t able to adequately follow-through with its storytelling.

The set for Studio 58’s production of the Tony Award–winning musical Cabaret features large letters that light up to spell KABARETT. This German word can refer to both cabaret-style entertainment and political satire. And Studio 58’s retelling of Cabaret, under the direction of Josh Epstein, is both. Audiences are drawn into an imaginative world where the Kit Kat dancers interact with guests and provide high-energy, rousing song-and-dance numbers that eventually turn into political commentary—at first more lightly satirical, then turning very dark.

If you’ve felt something different in the air this week in Vancouver, you’re right. Because there’s magic in the air, thanks to Broadway Across Canada’s production of The Illusionists – Live from Broadway, which opened on Tuesday night at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. This highly impressive show delivers dazzling tricks in a fun and personable way.

Jillian Fargey and Dean Paul Gibson in The Full Light of Day - photo by Don Lee

Electric Company Theatre’ latest work, The Full Light of Day, stretches the possibilities of theatrical storytelling, skillfully incorporating videography. The two-act play uses both live streaming, as well as pre-recorded video footage, to tell its story. Combined with stunning set, lighting, and costume designs, The Full Light of Day is quite a visual treat. With the use of Brian Lind’s movie-like sound design, the show indeed verges on creating a new art form – a theatre/film hybrid. Unfortunately, the show lacks a strong enough story to support its tremendous production values.

From the first rose-petal fall to the joyous finale, the Arts Club’s production of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast glows with the story’s message of love and forgiveness, infused with fresh elements. Originally staged in 2005 by director Bill Millerd, this production has evolved to stay relevant to audiences.

Charlie Brown and his Peanuts gang are looking fabulous these days. Carousel Theatre for Young People’s A Charlie Brown Holiday Double Bill has brought Charlie and his crew to the stage of the Waterfront Theatre in a larger-than-life theatrical experience that kids and parents alike will enjoy.

Sometimes we have instinctual feelings, even though we don’t have solid evidence to prove our suspicions. If we stay true to our instincts, we’re showing strength by sticking to our conviction. The flipside is, that in order to do this we need to ignore doubt. What’s the wiser thing to do? Sticking to your conviction or acknowledging doubt? That’s the premise of John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning play, Doubt: A Parable, which Seven Tyrants Theatre has skillfully mounted.

Is the majority always right? That’s the question that the The Enemy appears to ask at first. Adapted and directed by artistic producer Donna Spencer, from Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 An Enemy of the People, the play examines tensions between ethics and public interest. The Enemy does a nice job of transplanting Ibsen’s story into a contemporary setting that B.C. audiences can relate to. However, the play could benefit from some refinement, as the dialogue feels a bit unnatural, and there are a few too many extraneous pieces.

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical gets to the heart of what I love the most about musical theatre – it takes you on a character’s journey and combines acting, music, dance, and theatrical magic to tell a captivating story. It tells a simple story – but it’s a moving story nonetheless and the show’s star – the incredible Sarah Bockel – is dynamite.

The holiday season has begun and Align Entertainment is on the ball, with its slick, fun-filled production of A Christmas Story: The Musical. Based on the classic 1983 film, the musical version features an excellent score by Dear Evan Hansen’s Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. The stage version definitely succeeds in capturing the same quirky humour and sweet family-life sentiment as the film. Align Entertainment has put a lot of hard work into this show – and the quality of this production sparkles like Christmas lights.

Ballet BC opened its season this past week with Program 1, featuring three ballets with distinctly different styles. One of these ballets was an internationally acclaimed work from iconic choreographer William Forsythe. The second piece was a world premiere, set to the music of Jimi Hendrix. The third – and strongest – piece was a gorgeous remount of a ballet originally set on the company in 2011. It’s no surprise then that this piece, Petite Cérémonie, fits the company like a glove, and was likely the most memorable ballet of the night among audiences.

Gravity may not be as limiting as you think. While you always have to come down to earth after taking flight, there’s a lot you can do while still up in the air. And there’s no better example than Gravity & Other Myths thrilling production of Backbone. Featuring a cast of ridiculously in-shape and talented circus artists, this world-renowned show lifts you from your seat and whisks you into a whimsical world that challenges human strength and ability.

The company of Vancouver Opera’s The Merry Widow. Photo credit: Tim Matheson

Vancouver Opera has outdone itself with its dazzling production of Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow. This lighthearted operetta, written by Franz Lehár, will be a delightful treat for many theatre fans. It features dynamite performances, and some of the most spectacular sets and costumes I’ve ever seen onstage. But the heart of this production is the masterful craftsmanship of director Kelly Robinson, and choreographer Joshua Beamish.

Brad Fraser’s Kill Me Now is a serious look into the lives of a family plagued by unfortunate health conditions. It is heartfelt, touching and solidly based in its arguments. While the play’s primary message examines who holds the right to decide life or death, another layer explores the coming-of-age of a young man – a story, which regardless of disabilities involved (the central teenage character is disabled), is a beautiful representation of the circle of life.

With Halloween approaching, the Snapshots Collective’s immersive production of Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award–winning musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street has been unleashed at the perfect time. Bone-chilling and imaginative, this resurrection of Sweeney Todd delivers Sondheim’s masterpiece score and the show’s murderous story line in a way that’s wickedly and enjoyably up close and personal: at an actual pie shop.

Looking back at our younger selves is always interesting, and can conjure all kinds of emotions. A lot of times, we may think, “What was I thinking?”. Seven Tyrants Theatre’s production of Samuel Beckett’s play, Krapp’s Last Tape, explores the mixed emotions we have when reflecting on the past, and how we may often think, “I wish I could tell my younger self what I know now – and maybe give them a shake as well”.

Does our personality shape how we look, or does how we look shape our personality? That’s the question that Kit Redstone asks in the UK’s Rhum and Clay Theatre’s show, Testosterone, presented in Vancouver by The Cultch. Inspired by Redstone’s own experiences from transitioning to male in his early 30’s, Testosterone in an insightful look into adjusting to post-operation life and addressing pre-conceived assumptions about gender behaviour.